Fifth year, 1995-1996

"All Dumbledore told us last year was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought Diggory’s body back to Hogwarts. He didn’t give us details, he didn’t tell us exactly how Diggory got murdered. I think we’d all like to know…"

Smith was also openly critical of Harry Potter's leadership abilities, such as when he scoffed at Harry's decision to teach them Expelliarmus, which prompted Harry to point out that it had saved him when he duelled with Lord Voldemort, and that Zacharias was free to leave at any time. However, after the Daily Prophet announced that ten Death Eaters had escaped from Azkaban, Smith worked much harder, along with the other D.A. members.[3]

Sixth year, 1996-1997

"He saw me hex Zacharias Smith, you remember that idiot from Hufflepuff who was in the DA? He kept on and on asking about what happened at the Ministry and in the end he annoyed me so much I hexed him..."

Smith earned more ire from Gryffindors when he took over Lee Jordan's former position as Quidditch commentator, along with Luna Lovegood. Among his offending statements was a claim that Ron Weasley's friendship with Harry Potter, the team captain, helped get him onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team. When both Ginny and Ron proved themselves very capable players, Smith began making disparaging remarks about the new Gryffindor beaters instead. Smith was again on the bad end of Ginny's temper; after the match, she dive-bombed the podium where Smith was calling the match, and slammed into him. Ginny made an excuse to Professor McGonagall saying that she forgot to brake. When Luna Lovegood commentated on Quidditch that same year, she speculated that Smith was suffering from Loser's Lurgy.

In December, Hermione considered asking Smith to Horace Slughorn's Christmas party instead of Cormac McLaggen, as she knew that Ron loathed both boys, and wanted to get revenge for his relationship with Lavender Brown. Once in Slughorn's office, she told Harry and Luna that she wished she had chosen Smith; McLaggen talked about nothing but himself and was not at all a gentleman. Harry was revolted at the idea.

When the school year ended in tragedy, Smith was not among the students who attended the funeral of Albus Dumbledore, instead leaving the day before with his haughty-looking father.[4]

Seventh year, 1997-1998

"...there was much pushing and shouting; Harry saw Zacharias Smith bowling over first years to get to the front of the queue, here and there younger students were in tears, while older ones called desperately for friends or siblings."

Even though he was a member of Dumbledore's Army, Smith did not help in the defence of Hogwarts when it was attacked by Lord Voldemort's army in May of 1998; this may indicate that he did not join the revived D.A. that faced considerably more danger in opposing the Carrow professors that year. Smith was last seen fleeing Hogwarts, rather than participating in the Battle of Hogwarts. He even pushed first-year students out of his way in his rush to leave.[5] It is unknown if Smith survived the war, though it is likely he did, nor what happened to him afterwards.

Physical appearance

Personality and traits

Zacharias Smith seems to generally be a rather unpleasant person and was seen as overly critical of Harry Potter in the D.A.[3], pushy and insensitive in questioning Ginny Weasley, and rude and biased in his Quidditch commentary.[4] Aside from this lack of fair play, Smith also showed cowardice and a lack of the loyalty characteristic of Hufflepuff house in fleeing, instead of fighting for his school and fellow students in their time of greatest need; he was so selfish that he went as far as to forcefully rush through first years in his great haste to escape.[5] Being cowardly and selfish, he did not show his respect for the late headmaster Dumbledore by staying for his funeral, instead leaving the moment his father came to pick him up.[4]

Etymology

The name Zacharias is a variant of Zechariah, a Hebrew name meaning "God has remembered" (this was probably a misnomer for Zacharias). This was the name of the father of John the Baptist. He and his wife were very old when they had John, and Zechariah was initially disbelieving when an angel informed them they would have a son; as punishment for his doubt, he was struck mute. This may allude to Zacharias Smith's scepticism.

Zacharias Smith may be related to Hepzibah Smith, and therefore a descendant of Helga Hufflepuff, founder of his house at Hogwarts. Should this be true, Zacharias would be an odd irony compared to his ancestor Hufflepuff, lacking loyalty and fairplay - this would explain, though, why someone that did not carry many Hufflepuff traits would still be sorted into that house, as he could have requested to be put in Hufflepuff.

It could also be that, since Helga Hufflepuff would take students that were not picked by the other founders, the Sorting Hat sensed that Smith did not possess any of the qualities needed for the other houses and put him in Hufflepuff by default.

Notes and references

↑It is never stated what year Smith is in, but the fact that he was still attending Hogwarts for the 1997–1998 school year means that he could not have been above Harry Potter. Smith fleeing from the Battle of Hogwarts also suggests that he was probably not under-age at the time, since under-age wizards and witches were instructed to leave. However, Smith's fleeing could simply be indicative of his fear at the time, and some under-age students did participate in the battle, such as Colin Creevey. Smith becoming Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team in 1995 also suggests that he could not have been much younger than Harry, though it is possible he was one year below him.